Lorenzi, Hall honored as USBWA Rising Stars

SJI alums Joel Lorenzi of the Omaha World-Herald and Cora Hall of the Knoxville News-Sentinel have been named as Rising Star Award winners by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Both will be honored over Final Four weekend.

Hall was honored for her coverage of women’s basketball, with the USBWA noting that she regularly breaks news in covering one of the sport’s highest-profile beats. She has been involved in covering the Lady Vols since joining the staff in Knoxville in 2021. Chris Thomas, sports director for the USA Today Network’s South Region, praised Hall for “taking readers behind the scenes with the Lady Vols.”

Lorenzi, a Missouri alum who was part of SJI’s 2022 class, is in his first season covering Creighton sports for the Omaha World-Herald.